Thesis

Research and References

INVISIBLE INFRASTRUCTURES AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES

If we understand the mechanisms of a system, can we use that knowledge to alter it into a more trustworthy one? Complexities that exist beyond the surface level often reveal things we as creators have not considered when we design for “the user”. As regular humans, we often take things at face value, but hopefully exposing infrastructure can inspire more critical thinking.

ALTERNATIVE NETWORK (and thereby POWER) STRUCTURES

If we can’t trust the Internet, should we leave it? While I think it’ll be impossible to leave the Internet as we know it completely, I want to consider how other ways we can avoid being tracked, manipulated (hello, clickbait), and otherwise exploited by looking at alternative networking structures. If we can create alternative or evolving structures, we can make different distributions of power that inspire trust.

Contra Internet - 2016 - Zach BlasCategory: ArticleWhat: Zach Blas discusses what would it mean to have no Internet or the Internet to disappear itself. Also alternatives to the traditional Internet network structure.

Autonomy Cube - 2014 - Trevor PaglenCategory: ArtWhat: Router inside of a cube creates a wifi hotspot that routes all activity over the Tor network. It is also a Tor relay that utilizes the bandwidth of whatever institution it is being displayed, which strengthens the Tor network.

Endless One - 2016Category: ProductWhat: Computer & OS that is designed to work with little or no Internet access

Othernet - 2017 - Dhruv MehrotraCategory: ITP Thesis ProjectWhat: A smaller “internet” that connects a local, physical community that is separate from the larger Internet

PRIVATIZATION OF IDENTITY

Private companies are providing services that function as public, but these companies are also the ones who regulate these spaces, which means they are not truly public. We sign our rights away with the user agreement to get services that are necessary (e-mail, communication), but we lose control of our data and lose trust in these services. In addition to the insane amount of $$$ being made from user data, I think it’s starting to inform how we identify ourselves which is creating an exploitative cycle.

Beyond the Self - 2016 - Jack SelfCategory: ArticleWhat: A case against individuality as we are starting to view it now. Our quantifiable identities are being used to further an economic system that doesn’t benefit us. The market that drives this economic system reinforces these identities to keep furthering itself.

Machine Politics - 2019 - Fred TurnerCategory: ArticleWhat: How the political climate of WWII gave rise to the counterculture of the early tech industry and how its original utopian intent is at odds with status as a private, for-profit corporations. How individualism is key to (the idealistic version of) democracy, but now being leveraged & magnified using new media, algorithms, and identity politics. Social media != democracy. Long lasting change must be preserved in slower moving institutions and policy.

Dating Brokers - 2018 - Joana MollCategory: Digital ArtWhat: Joana Moll purchased a data set of dating profiles and traced back to its origins, revealing “vast network of companies that are capitalizing on this information without the conscious consent of the users, whom ultimately are the ones being exploited”.

Me and My Shadow - 2018 - Tactical TechCategory: WebsiteWhat: Educational website provides friendly walkthroughs and explanations of the data trail you leave when you are online and how you might be more careful with that data.

Thesis Statement/Rationale

My time as an engineer was strange for me. Very few of my peers ever talked about the implications of the technology we were creating and learning to use. Our main goal was to to solve the problems, but we never questioned whether we should or not. Because of this I feel paranoia and trust issues about the everyday tech we use.

I think that the intentions of most engineers and technologists are not malicious, and that it is more of a knowledge gap of the invisible infrastructures and unintended consequences around the technologies we’re developing.

This leads to my question – How do we build trust in the technologies we engage with everyday by creating a better understanding of their underlying systems? My focus will center around personal data and networked devices. Even if aspects of these systems are unpleasant for us to discover, I hope that bringing that knowledge to light can be an opportunity for change in our tech and in our relationship with technology.

For my thesis, I will investigate this question by first building a visualization that gives visibility to hidden infrastructures. Next, I will choose a specific part of the system and build a tool to help people identify and take action when their trust is being violated by a piece of tech. I want my project to be accessible to people, so I want find a way for the project live on the Internet.

Summary

Research

Description

Concept

Building trust in the everyday technologies we engage with everyday by creating a better understanding their underlying systems. I think there are snapshots and details of different parts of the system, but not many things that I found that zooms out to look at the bigger picture. I think the most important thing about this content will be able connecting a bunch of seemingly unrelated dots.

Audience

My project is geared towards consumers and creators of the daily technologies we use. I’d like to examine the most pervasive ones like smartphones, Internet/IoT, flows & gathering of data. I’d like my project to be accessible via the Internet, but have a physical component as well.

Context

I want to frame my project around our commonplace activities and interactions. Likely to framed around places like “home” and “the internet”. They will probably be biased towards my habits, but I want to talk with more people to provide a fuller picture.

Content

I need to gather info about various parts of these systems, and also delineate where I feel like their edges are. There will be a mix of library and exploratory research involved to find those edges.

Tech

I’m feeling okay about creating websites and I think I might have to learn some new libraries. I’m interested in having a physical component, but no major fabrication, which should be okay for me.

Timeframe & Scope

Not 100% sure. I think I still need to flesh out more details. I think I might make a couple prototypes on my way to making a proof on concept. I am kind of viewing this as an exploration at this time.

Related / Similar Projects

From the Othernet wiki - “While the internet continues to develop into a tool for institutional control and corporate surveillance, we believe that the local area network can function as a site for resistance, coalition building, and disaster mitigation. The Othernet is a community wireless network. It is not the internet, but something else entirely.”

FireChat allows users to communicate through a peer-to-peer connection using bluetooth and wifi without connecting to the larger internet. It is essentially using mesh networks as an alternative way to connect people and share data. The company who makes it, Open Garden, also makes products that try to decentralize internet access.

This essentially like getting the approval of the BBB (Better Business Bureau) except for IoT devices. This is less of a tool and more like a certification that the creators hope will help customers make more informed choices.

Questions

Is it better to work within the limits of technology we already have to improve our trust? Or do we need to fight against technologies that exploit people, perhaps by creating alternative technologies Something in between?

Is the base of a trusting relationship with technology rooted in the product itself or rather in the creator of the tech?

What aspects of the system are most hidden and important to uncover? Product-makers like to draw attention away from negative externalities like the environmental, labor, access to tech, SEO/curated access, etc

What pieces of data moving about the Internet/networked technology are most important to investigate? Maybe things related to our devices like MAC addresses or IP addresses? Or things related to our personal info like cookies?

How important is the distinction between us and our data? Are we becoming our data? In other words, how are “data-driven” products exerting their influence on us (reprogramming us) and unconsciously changing our behaviors?

How can we reverse the power of user data collection? - Can we become our own data brokers?